Bowling shoe conditioner



United Statesg PatentO 3,144,675 BOWLING SHOE CDNDITIONER Richard A.Canaan, 22487 Boulder, East Detroit, Mich. Filed Nov. 8, 1962, Ser. No.236,364 1 Claim. (Cl. 15-311) This invention relates generally to a shoeconditioner and refers more particularly to apparatus for conditioningthe bottoms of bowling shoes and the like.

' The soles of a bowlers shoes should be clean and dry so that they willnot stick. A bowler will usually slide up to the` foul line when hereleases the ball at the end of his delivery motion, and if particles ofdirt are embedded in the soles of his shoes or if the soles are damp,his shoes will have a tendency to stick instead of slide.

Accordingly, a principal object of this invention is to provide a shoeconditioner for conditioning the bottom surfaces of shoes.

Another object is to provide a shoe conditioner for cleaning and/ ordrying the bottoms of shoes.

Another object is to provide a shoe conditioner comprising a tread plateand a rotary brush beneath the tread plate normally extending upwardlythrough an elongated slot in the plate toy contact andcondition thebottom of a shoe on the tread plate. Y

Another object is to provide a shoe conditioner having a secondelongated slot in the tread plate in spaced parallel relation tothe irstslot through which air can be discharged to dry the surface of the shoe,and an elongated bar adjacent and parallel to the second slot to preventthe shoe from bearing directly down on and closing the second slot.

Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent as thedescription proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view with parts broken away and in section of ashoe conditioner embodying my invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of the shoe conditioner with partsbroken away and in section.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken substantiallyon the line 3-3 of FIGURE l, and also showing part of the spring tube insection.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4 4of FIGURE 3.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the shoe conditioner isgenerally indicated by the reference numeral and includes a fronthousing 12 and a back casing 14. The housing 12 has a base 16, anupright front wall 18, upright side walls and a top or tread plate 22,which is generally horizontal but in the present instance is shown assloping somewhat toward the front. The tread plate 22 is hat and isformed with two slots therein, the larger of the two being designated 24and the smaller 26. These slots are centered with respect to the sideedges of the tread plate, it being understood that approximately half ofthe slots are broken away in FIGURE 1.

Within the housing there is mounted a swing frame 28 which includes apair of laterally spaced parallel arms 30 and 32. These arms are ofidentical construction and their rear ends are pivoted to the sides 20of the housing by pins 34 for vertical swinging about the alignedhorizontal axes of the pins. Spacers 36 hold the arms in spaced relationto the sides 20 of the housing. A bar 38 extends between and is securedat its ends to the arms 30 and 32 to make a more rigid structure. Ashaft 40 extends between the front ends of the arms 30 and 32, and ismounted on the front ends of the arms for rotation. A brush 42 is iixedon the shaft to rotate as a unit with the shaft.

`ward from the upper end of the tube.

3,144,675 Patented Aug. 18, 1964 FCC The brush 42 is a rotary brushhaving the cylindrical form shown, and preferably is made up of amultiplicity of bristles which project radially outward from the axis ofrotation. In the present instance, these bristles are metal wireelements preferably formed of stainless steel.

A motor 44 is mounted on the wall 46 of the casing 14, which wall formsthe rear side of the housing 12 to complete the enclosure. The motor hasan output shaft 48 provided with a pulley 50. A belt 52 extends from thepulley 50 to a pulley 54 on shaft 40 so that operation of the motor willserve to rotate the shaft 40 and brush 42.

The shaft 40 and brush 42 extend horizontally, and it will be noted thatthe brush within the housing is directly beneath slot 24. Normally, thebrush is positioned so that it projects upwardly through the slot 24 andabove the top surface of the tread plate. A stop 56 engages the arm 30,preventing the arm and hence the entire swing frame including the brushfrom swinging upwardly beyond the position illustrated. The stop 56 isfixed to the side wall 20 of the housing.

The swing frame is urged in an upward direction by a compression coilspring 60. Coil spring 60 is housed within a vertical tube 62 securedwithin the housing in the position shown directly underneath the arm 30of the swing frame. The tube 62 has an open upper end and hasdiametrically opposite slots 64 and 66 extending down- The arm 30extends across the tube and through the slots 64 and 66, as shown inFIGURES 3 and 4, and the upper end of the vspring presses against thelower edge of the arm. The

lower end lof the spring of course bears against the base 16 of thehousing on which the tube is secured. The lower edges 68 and 70 of theslots are horizontally aligned 'with one another and are located so thatthe swing frame can pivot downwardly from the position shown far enoughso that the periphery of the brush does not project above the topsurface of the tread plate.

The casing 14 at the rear of the housing contains an air blower 72 whichis mounted in fixed position on a rear extension of the base 16. Aconduit 74 extends from the blower through the wall 46 and into thehousing 12 terminating in a discharge orifice 76 which engages andregisters with the underside of slot 26. It will be noted that the slotis long and narrow, and the outlet of the conduit has a similar shape.The blower 72 may be similar to an ordinary hair drier and is designedto not only blow the air but to heat it as well so that the air has abetter drying action.

An elongated bar is secured to the top surface of tread plate 22 andextends parallel to slot 26. The bar is spaced about one inch (1) fromthe slot 26 and is centered with respect to the side edges of the treadplate so that it extends slightly beyond both ends of slot 26. The baris of uniform cross-section throughout its length, fiat on the bottom,and has an arcuate or semi-cylindrical top surface.

The front wall 18 of the housing has an opening 80, and a drawer 82slides in and out through the opening. The drawer has a compartment 84for collecting particles underneath the brush. The tread plate 22 may beformed of any suitable material, preferably stainless steel. The slots24 and 26 have a length or long dimension which approximates the widthof the sole of a shoe.

In use, a person, in this instance a bowler, will clean and dry thesoles of his shoes by stepping on the tread plate 22, as shown in FIGURE2. The sole of the shoe S contacts the top surface of the tread plateand the wearer of the shoe will move the shoe back and forth in aforward and rearward direction to subject the sole of the shoe, and theheel also if desired, to the action of the air from slot 26 and thebrush 42. The brush will abrade away any particles of dirt or grit whichmay have become embedded or adhered to the bottom of the shoe. The Warmair from slot 26 has a rapid drying action on the bottom of the shoe. Inthe period of time of one minute or less the sole of a bowlers shoe canbe completely cleaned of dirt particles and dried so that it is inproper condition for bowling. The bar 85 holds the sole of the Shoespaced slightly above slot 26. Thus the air from slot 26 can dischargerelatively freely and act 0n a large area of the bottom of the shoe.Without the bar 85, the sole of the shoe is apt to press down and closethe slot restricting its drying action.

The spring 60 forces the brush 42 up through slot 24 with only thatamount of force which is desired to be applied against the sole of theshoe. The pressure of the shoe on the tread plate will normally begreater than the force of the spring so that the rotary brush will bedepressed to the level of the top surface of the slot. Hence it is thespring then which controls the pressure applied against the shoe. Itwill be understood that when a bowler presses his foot on the treadplate with only normal pressure, that is not with his full weight on theshoe, the spring will yield to allow the rotary brush to engage the shoewith only that amount of pressure which is necessary to clean the bottomwithout removing any more material of the slot itself than is necessary.

The device may be coin-operated, that is by the insertion of a coin in aslot the motor drive 44 for the brush and the blower-heater unit 72 maybe energized, for say a period of one minute, giving the person ampletime to recondition the bottoms of his shoes.

It is to be understood that shoes may be conditioned in the mannerdescribed either while they are being worn on the foot, or the shoes maybe removed for condition- It will be understood of course that theresilient mounting for the brush is also desirable in preventing thebrush and swing frame from being damaged by the application of too muchfoot pressure on the tread plate.

The bowling shoe conditioner described above is easy to operate andquickly completes its function of cleaning and drying. The device isalso entirely safe to operate so that there is no danger of injury tothe person using it.

What I claim as my invention is:

A shoe conditioner comprising a tread plate having a top surface adaptedto be engaged by the bottom of a shoe such as a bowlers shoe, anelongated slot in said plate, a rotary brush beneath the slot in saidtread plate and normally projecting upwardly through said slot and abovesaid top surface of said tread plate to contact and condition the bottomof a shoe engaging said top surface, the axis of rotation of said brushextending in the direction of length of said slot, a resilient supportfor said brush enabling it to be displaced in a downward direction underthe weight of the shoe, said tread plate having a second elongated slotparallel to and substantially coextensive with the first slot, saidsecond slot being spaced from the rst slot a distance substantially lessthan the average length of a shoe, an elongated bar upon and projectingupwardly from the top surface of said tread plate adjacent and parallelto said second slot adapted to be engaged by the bottom of a shoe toprevent the shoe from bearing directly down on and closing said secondslot, said slots, said brush and said bar approximating in length theaverage width of a shoe, and means for discharging air upwardly throughsaid second slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,340,544 Hopkins May 18, 1920 1,420,375 Gales June 20, 1922 1,596,676Manger Aug. 17, 1926 2,443,695 Russel June 22, 1948 3,032,794 StevensMay 8, 1962 3,054,129 Dragoon Sept. 18, 1962 3,084,361 Outlaw Apr. 9,1963 FOREIGN PATENTS 319,167 Switzerland Mar. 30, 1957

